Academic excellence is about to fall victim to changes caused by federal and state ''accountability'' requirements, budget cuts and nonacademic priorities. If the Clarke County School District's current budget cut proposals are adopted by the Board of Education, the following classes will no longer be offered at Clarke Central High School: psychology, sociology, comparative religions, humanities, modern U.S. military history, ethnic studies, U.S. and world affairs, current issues and geography. These losses result from expansion of economics classes made necessary by increased standardized testing and no corresponding increases in teaching staff. The Advanced Placement program faces a 100 percent loss of supplements to attract the finest teachers to instruct college-level A.P. classes in Clarke County public high schools.

How has this threat to academic instruction come about?

Clarke County implemented block scheduling five years ago. This change was made after years of study by committees of teachers, administrators, parents and community leaders. Block scheduling has given Clarke County students more options for elective classes, making a Clarke County diploma stronger and enabling our students to more successfully compete for post-secondary opportunities. Accordingly, Clarke Central began offering the nine classes listed above.

These course offerings have required extensive research and preparation and have been a great source of pride for the CCHS Social Studies Department. They have also been very popular with our students. U.S. military history has also been very popular with the veterans of the community, and they have volunteered their time to help make the course successful.

Three years ago the Georgia Department of Education began implementing end of course tests (EOCT) for eight high school academic subjects, including U.S. history and economics. The state is requiring these tests be counted as 20 percent of the course grade. The economics EOCT has caused a significant shift in priority for social studies instruction. Previously, history and citizenship were the focus of state Department of Education tests. Therefore, high school economics was only a half-unit course in personal finance and an introduction to the science of economics.

The economics EOCT is a very challenging test which requires more instructional preparation. As a result, social studies teachers from Clarke Central and Cedar Shoals recommended economics be increased to a full unit. The board of education approved this increase of required social studies units from three to four. However, it did not provide additional staff to cover the obvious increase in required instruction. Therefore, Clarke Central does not have the staff to offer the elective courses listed above, and students will have very few academic elective classes from which to choose. Recently, the Clarke County school district had to cut 7.5 percent from its budget. Due to the budget cuts, requests for additional staff have been denied, and certain positions in the schools will not be rehired if vacated.

Budget cuts are also endangering Advanced Placement programs. Students who take A.P. classes attempt college-level work, and if they successfully complete the class and a College Board test, they may receive both high school and college credit. Teachers assigned to instruct these classes complete additional training and are typically very experienced educators. The supplement, which has been provided for the past 21 years, is being cut due to budget shortfalls. No other high school program is facing a 100 percent cut.

These supplements attract the best teachers to Clarke County, and, over time, A.P. teachers will choose to apply to other districts where compensation is still available for the additional preparation time A.P. courses require. Some of our current A.P. instructors may choose to leave our schools as well. Currently Clarke County is implementing additional after-school programs to tutor struggling students and supporting the Performance Learning Center for students who do not fit into a regular high school setting. Why is the most successful program for our gifted students not receiving the same funding priority?

There are no doubts budget cuts are necessary, but should they be made in the classroom? Surely if quality academic instruction was the priority of the Clarke County School District other areas could be found for the necessary cuts. Please let the Clarke County BOE know our students should not lose quality courses and funding for successful classroom programs. Academic excellence in Clarke County should not fall victim to budget shortages.

Cooper serves as social studies department chairman at Clarke Central High School where he has taught history for 14 years.